Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at an event "Transforming Urban Landscape" in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
My dear brothers and sisters who came from different parts of the country,
First of all, as a member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh I warmly welcome all of you here. I believe, you must have enjoyed the hospitality of this historic city and Lukhnavi way of expressing it. Friends, as a group you have accepted these changes and implemented them at the ground level. Whether you are a mayor or a commissioner or a CEO, you represent those cities of India that symbolise the hopes and aspirations of a new century, a New India and new generation. You have been working with us shoulder to shoulder to realise the dreams of crores of Indians for the last three years.
Just a while ago, I got a chance to visit the exhibition here. I was informed about the projects under implementation across the country. Some of the cities that have been doing excellent work under smart city mission have also been rewarded. Besides, the keys of their houses have also been handed over to some brothers, sisters and daughters. And the glow on their faces, the hope of a bright future that was there in their eyes after getting the keys are a source of huge inspiration for all of us.
I got a chance to speak to several such beneficiaries before coming to the dais. This is a matter of great satisfaction for me to get the opportunity to change the lives of the poor and homeless. I congratulate and convey my best wishes to those cities who have been rewarded, and to those citizens and their families who have got their homes. However, you might have noticed that when I was handing over the awards, of all the people who came to receive them from me, only two mayors were men and rest were women. Please clap for our sisters for the grit with which they have performed this task.
Friends,
Whether it is the mission to provide pucca houses to the homeless people of the cities or task of 100 smart cities or 500 AMRUT cities, our determination to make the lives of crores of citizens easier, convenient and safe has become stronger in the past three years. Even today the foundation stones for several schemes for making the cities of Uttar Pradesh smart have been laid here. And I was told that the work on the projects worth Rs. 7,000 crore has been completed and the work on projects worth more than Rs. 52,000 crore is going on at a fast speed across the country under the smart city mission.
The aim of this mission is to make the lives of the poor, lower middle class and middle class people living in cities easier and provide them better civic services. Integrated common centres will be established in the smart cities for operating all the systems of the entire city. And all the activities will be monitored from here. They are like the soul of these cities.
Friends,
The integrated command and control centres have started working in 11 cities out of the 100 ciies selected under this mission. And efforts are being made to complete this work in 50 more cities in the next few months. And the results of these efforts are showing results. I am told that the situation that has been changed in Rajkot city of Gujarat to some extent due to this facility is that the crime rate has considerably reduced in the last two quarters. The tendency to litter garbage or burning of garbage in the public places has also come down due to monitoring through CCTV.
Bhopal has witnessed an increase in the collection of property tax due to this. In Ahmedabad, the number of people has started going up naturally because of BSTS corridor and provision of free wi-fi in buses. In Vishakhapattanam, the buses are tracked online through CCTV and GPS. In Pune, emergency call bells have been installed at nearly 125 such places where the nearest police station is being alerted just by the push of one button. Today, several such systems are in operation. Very soon you people will also start getting similar facilities and its benefits under the smart city mission in Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad, Aligarh, Varanasi, Jhansi, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Moradabad and in our city Lucknow.
Brothers and sisters,
There is a close relation between our mission ‘Transforming the Landscape of Urban India’ and this city. Lucknow city has been the place of work of Shriman Atal Bihari Bajpai who gave a new direction to urban life. It has been his Parliamentary constituency for a long time and ShrimanBajpai, the former Prime Minister of the country is a source of inspiration for us. These days Atal Ji’s health is not good and the entire country has been praying for his early recovery. However, our government and crores of Indians, by joining us, have been moving forward at a fast speed to take the project to a new height which was started by Atal Ji.
Friends,
In a way, Atal Ji has developed Lucknow as a laboratory for reforming the urban life of the city. Today, the flyovers, bio technology park, scientific convention centers and the roads that connect nearly one thousand villages around Lucknow, all these things that you see, they are the result of his vision when he was a member of Parliament from Lucknow. Today, metro rail is running in many cities and is soon going to start operation in a dozen more cities of the country. The work to expand the metro has been going on in Lucknow too. The work to implement this system on the ground in Delhi, the first in the country and that brings about a massive change in the urban transport, was also done by Atal Bihari Bajpai. And today the success of Delhi metro has been repeated all over the country.
Friends,
Atal Ji used to say that the new will not become better without improving the old. He had said this thing in the context of the old and new Lucknow. And today this is the inspiration for the AMRUT and the Smart City Mission that we have been talking about and Atal Ji’s name is being associated with it and the full form of the AMRUT scheme is: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.
With the same thinking, the decades old systems in several cities have been improved. In these cities, sewage system, drinking water facilities, street lights have been reformed and emphasis has been laid on the beautification of lakes, ponds and parks.
Friends,
The scheme under which my homeless brothers and sisters who spend their lives under the sky in cities was started by Atal Ji. In 2001, Atal Ji had started Balmeeki-Ambedkar Housing Scheme throughout the country. The government has been trying to provide everyone a roof on his head by 2022 when India completes 75 years of its independence and that there should not be a single family in the country who does not have its own house. More than 54 lakh houses have been sanctioned in cities in the last three years by keeping this goal in the mind. Not only in cities, more than 1 crore houses have been handed over to the public in villages too. Today, the houses that are being constructed, have a toilet and electricity under the Saubhagyascheme. They have LED bulbs under Ujala scheme, it means they are getting a complete package. Not only the government has been providing relief in the interest payment for these houses but their area has also been increased as compared to the earlier ones.
Friends,
The houses that are being provided, these are not just a roof on the head of homeless but they are also living examples of women empowerment. The houses that are being provided under Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme, have been registered in the name of mothers and sisters. Under this scheme, the registry of nearly 87 lakh houses has been done either in the name of women or in partnership with them. Otherwise, what kind of social structure we had! You go to any family, the land was on whose name? It is either husband, father or in son’s name. The house was owned by whom? It was owned by either husband or son. The scooter was purchased on whose name! It was on the name of son. There was nothing in the name of that women. We have changed that situation. Now the people passing through the lane will not ask who is the master of the house? But they will ask: this house belongs to which lady? This change is going to be there in the thinking of the society.
I congratulate Yogi Ji and his government that he has been taking this scheme to uplift the living standards of the poor people forward at a rapid pace. Otherwise, I also know about the experience with the previous government. I am very well familiar with the period after 2014 and before formation of Yogi Ji’s government and I keep reminding people about them. How we used to write letters again and again regarding the housing to the poor and whenever I got a chance to meet then I had to ask: brother please do something, we are ready to provide funds. We used to urge them. However, those governments, those people were like that only. They were not ready to change their work culture. They had a one point programme – to renovate and decorate their own bungalows. And the houses for poor will only be constructed when they get time from that work.
Today, I would like to share one more thing with you. And because Uttar Pradesh has elected me as a member of parliament then I should share this thing with the people of Uttar Pradesh and it is your right. You would have heard that an allegation has been labeled against me. That allegation is that I am a partner and not a watchman.
My brothers and sisters of Uttar Pradesh, my countrymen, I consider that allegation as a reward and I am proud that I am a partner. I am a partner in the sorrow of the poor of the country. I am a partner of hardworking labourers. I am a partner of every harassed mother and a partner of that mother who spoils her eyes and her health by collecting woods littered here and there and by burning the bricks made of cow dung in her stove. I want to change the stove of every such mother. I am a partner in the pain of every such farmer whose crop is destroyed due to drought or flood. I am a partner in the financial safety of that farmer. I am a partner in the zeal of our brave soldiers who are ready to make supreme sacrifice for our safety in the places like Kargil and Siachin where there is bone-biting cold and the places like Jaisalmer and Kutch where the heat singes the skin. I am a partner in the pain of that poor family that is being compelled to even sell its land for the treatment of a sick family member. I think about those families and work to serve them. I am a partner in every such effort which is made to provide roof on every poor person’s head so that they can get a house. So that they can get a toilet in that house, so that they can get clean drinking water and electricity; so that they can affordable medicine and treatment if they fall sick and they their children can get education. I am a partner in every such effort that aims to provide skills, jobs and self-employment to our youth. I want to see that our people wearing slipper have the facility of air travel.
I am proud that I am a partner and as I take pride in that I am a son of a poor mother. Poverty has given me honesty and courage. The difficulties caused by poverty have taught me how to live my life. I have endured the difficulties caused by poverty, I have seen the pain and sorrow of poor people from close quarters. There is a saying in our country – the one who does not have a sore in the leg does not know the pain of others. Only those who have endured pain know about it and they know the solution of those problems.
Even prior to that I was labeled as a tea seller, I was questioned that how can a tea seller be the first servant of the country! However, those people can’t decide this. It will be decided by 125 crore people of the country.
Friends,
These people who insult this partnership and their thinking is the root cause of the problems faced in our cities today, it is the reflection of the same thinking. We had inspiration for the smart cities and also had the people who could work for it. Today, the ancient cities which are being discovered through excavation, they are the examples of this thing that how our ancestors used to design a city. How they had been a votary and designer of the smart cities of that time and age centuries ago. However, the lack of holistic thinking and political will power has caused another great damage.
When we had the responsibility of building the nation after independence then the pressure of population was not that much. And at that time we had a great opportunity to develop our cities as per the requirement of the future. This kind of problems were not there at that time. Had we done this thing in a planned manner at that time then we would not have to face those difficulties that we have been facing today. However, cities were developed in a haphazard manner, people were allowed to expand the way they wanted it. It was like that I should make money and you please feel free to do whatever you want to do. In a way, a jungle of concrete was allowed to develop. Today, every Indian city is bearing the consequences of this thing.
Friends,
An entire generation has passed struggling with these difficulties and sometimes two-three generations have passed like this and subsequent generations have been passing through these bitter experiences. And experts say that India, which has been growing at the rate of 7.5% now, will grow at an even faster pace in the coming years. In such a situation, that part of the country which contributes more than 65% of the GDP, which is a engine for growth in a way, if that remains unorganized then we can guess what kind of problems will be created. And that is why it is essential to organise these facilities.
Electricity wires hanging over head; the sewers spewing out the filthy water; traffic jams for hours; these unorganized things can’t define the India of 21st century. With this thinking, the foundation for this mission was laid three years ago. And 100 cities of the country were selected for this thing and it was decided that these will be developed with an investment of more than Rs. 2 lakh crore. And development will be like this that the city will have a new body but the same old soul, where the culture will be hallmark of the city and smartness will be its life. We have been moving forward in the direction of developing this kind of living cities at a great speed.
Friends,
Smart city is not just a project of our government but it is a mission. It is a mission for transformation; mission to transform; and mission to transform the nation. This mission will prepare our cities to face the challenges of a New India. It will create world class intelligent urban centers in the 21st century India. They represent the aspirations of those youth of the country who want the best instead of something that is merely better. It is our responsibility, it is our commitment that the facilities of future should be developed as per this generation. Where everything should be based on ‘E’ and these five ‘Es’ are Ease of living, Education, Employment, Economy and Entertainment.
Whenever I talk to the people like you, like the mayors of cities or municipal commissioners or CEOs, then I have a new hope. The process of smart city mission is based on people’s participation, people’s aspirations and people’s responsibilities. People of these cities themselves have decided that what kind of schemes should be started in their cities. And their ideas have become the basis of the vision of smart city and today the work has been done on them at a fast speed.
I am also happy about the fact that not only new facilities are being developed there but an alternative arrangement for funding has been made too. Pune, Hyderabad and Indore have raised more than Rs. 5,00 crore through municipal bonds. And very soon this process is going to start in Lucknow and Ghaziabad. These municipal bonds will also lessen the financial burden on governments. I would like to appeal to other cities as well that they should come forward for this kind of initiatives.
Friends,
Ease of living is being ensured by making these cities smart and connecting their systems to the technology. Today, you can feel this thing that how the facilities have been made available online because of that common people don’t have to stand in the queue. These queues were also a root cause of corruption. Today, if you need to pay a bill, need to apply for some facility, you need some certificate or several facilities like scholarship, pension, provident funds are today available online. It means today even governance is becoming smart which has ensured transparency and it has been leading to a lot of reduction in corruption.
Friends,
Smart, secure, sustainable and transparent systems have been bringing about changes in the lives of crores of people in the country. This system which is being developed, it is for everyone. It doesn’t have the boundaries and basis of high and low or community or sect. Development and development alone, this is the formula. There is no secrecy and no discrimination. And all this can become possible due to participation of the people, states and local bodies. This feeling of SabkaSath and SabkaVikas  and the spirit of team India alone will realise the solemn pledge of a New India. And today when I was talking to Yogi Ji then he informed me about a good thing. Look! There are several such things that if we trust our citizens then what a wonderful results can be produced. And it is unfortunate that earlier politicians used to remember citizens at the time of seeking votes only.
If we honestly look at and assess the power and goodwill of citizens then what kind of wonderful results we can get. Yogi Ji was telling me. You people are aware that once I have appealed from the Red Fort on 15th of August that you people earn so much and why you people should be concerned about the subsidy on cooking gas! Why you people avail subsidy on cooking gas? In our country subsidy is so much linked with politics that no one dare talk about it. But we did. And the country should be proud of the fact that nearly 1.25 crore families gave up the subsidy on cooking gas.
Look I had appealed for that from the Red Fort. Railways made a column in its reservation form, recently. It was not advertised much and we are aware that senior citizens who travel in rail get concession. It is not linked to income, it’s like that that you have attained this age and now you will get this benefit. Railways wrote that if you earn enough and if you want to give up this subsidy then please tick mark this column. And I was happy to know that in such a short span of time, there was no advertisement or statement from a politician either, but in such a short span of time more than 40 lakh people gave up their subsidy for railway travel. It’s not a small thing.
Today, Yogi Ji told me that those people who have earlier got houses in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, economic conditions of some of those people improved. Some of them settled in cities when their sons went to the cities to earn livelihoods. And government of Uttar Pradesh made an appeal to those people that if they already have a house given by the government and their your situation has improved then please surrender that house to the government. And we want to allot it to some poor person. And it’s a matter of great happiness for me that 46,000 people of villages in Uttar Pradesh surrendered their houses. It’s not a small thing.
There was a mentality in our country that everyone was a thief and all of them will act like this only. There is no need for this kind of thinking, we should trust citizens of our country and we should have confidence that our countrymen are more capable than us to run the country.
Now people are coming forward to change the country, an atmosphere of honesty is being created. Now more people are coming forward to pay the taxes in comparison with earlier times. If people see the facilities in the city then they are willing to pay the taxes. They are confident because they know that now every single penny will be spent in a proper manner, they are confident that it will not be spent on politician’s bungalows.
And for this I once again thank all of you. For the work that you people have performed. I am confident that next time there will be more cities; I believe new people will come up. New cities have capabilities and you just need to provide leadership. Whether you are the commissioner or mayor or CEO of that city, please set a big target. I am waiting to award you people too. Now you people should provide me the opportunity to honor you. I invite all the people of India to give me a chance to honor you.
Once again I convey my best wishes to those who have been successful and also convey my best wishes to those who have been making efforts to succeed.
Thank you very much.